GRAND, DRIVE!

The band show what troopers they are - and even their afros remain intact...

Strong>AT THE DRIVE-IN resurrected their US tour in SEATTLE last night (Tuesday November 14), just a couple of days after cheating death in a van accident.

The Texan five-piece’s van was wrecked after hitting black ice and flipping over in Sterling, Colorado at the weekend. All the band members were “shaken up” by the incident, with singer Cedric and drummer Tony taken to hospital with foot and back injuries respectively.

As a result of the crash the band were forced to cancel two shows – in Denver and Salt Lake City – on doctors orders.

Before resuming the tour at The Showbox in Seattle, singer Bixler dedicated the set to their wrecked van – which, due to their ceaseless touring regime had been a home from home for the past two years – and thanked his lucky stars to be alive.

As the band took to the stage he said: “I’d just like to thank our guardian angel. We shouldn’t be here at all. We should be dead.”

Neither the singer or drummer showed obvious signs of discomfort during their 45-minute set, supporting hometown heroes the Murder City Devils.

Despite having lost a toenail and suffering from swelling, Bixler was as animated and excitable as usual – regularly leaping into the air from speaker stacks and the drumkit. And neither his, nor guitarist Omar’s afro appeared to have been damaged in the van accident.

At The Drive-In’s US tour with the Murder City Devils finishes up in Los Angeles on November 20. The bands – which have been performing together for two months – will then head to the UK in December.